SamThomas

I use 16/0.2 for the droppers & 1.5mm "Tri-Rated" switchgear cable for the main busses. Personally, I would never, ever use cable that had been stripped from a sheathed cable.

Whilst appreciating the various likes/dislikes/pet hates I have personally found over the years that good housekeeping is the real key to keep track & wheels clean.

The Roco locomotive camera has been available (in different version) in DCC but the availability of it seems to "come & go". It does work very well with the Z21 though & you can download facililies of some european locomotive driving desks to go with it.

So that's how it works ! Thanks for explaining Nigel.

The modelling of plyons and associated equipment in this thread is excellent. Mundane structures they may be, but the attention to detail is seond to none. Thanks for showing this quality modelling.

AFAIK Lenz decoders can somehow differenciate between losing contact on say dirty track & removal from the track completly - I really don't know how. Could explain why the lights stay on (to discharge the capacitors ?) & not power the motor.

It's a lot easier with Diesel & OHE outline locomotives - in many cases spare wheel/axle sets can be ordered without the traction tyres.

As the thread has already drifted to include steam locomotives I have to say that watching recent videos of steam locomotives returning to the main lines I'm impressed by how clean burning the exhausts are - plenty of white vapour (which of course is what clouds in the sky sonsist of & is harmless) & very little sign of unburnt fuel. Cue the enevitable example of a "kettle" upsetting the Greta's from an oil burner fan 1, 2, 3.............

Be an idea to include the example clip.

Please excuse the tongue in cheek title, but are the days of some preserved Diesel locomotives limited ? We are now in an age where we are being effectively forced towards Electric Vehicles, replacing gas boilers & so on. It it only a matter of time before the environmental axe falls on locomotives/starting proceedures like the locomotive in the YT clip - the beloved clag of some diesel enthusiasts will probably have to go if they are to continue in use. I am aware that diesel fuel has changed in recent years & part of the problem may be that many older diesel engines (not just in locomotives, road vehicles also) were never designed to run on todays fuel.

You have to be very careful with the "Superglue" family of adhesives, some more than others - you need to keep your nose & eyes in particular well away from them. They can react with various materials. Personally, I've not found them that effective with many of the plastics used for modelling, especially plastic to plastic. & never, ever use them for such jobs as fixing passengers into coaches or you may end up with opaque windows ! Oh, & another thing, if heated (like with a soldering iron too close) they can give off cyanyde gas (or something with a similar chemical formula) which is not conductive to continued health.)

It could very well be that the stock "settles" when it is left on the tracks. Myself, I often find that stock that has beens stored takes a little running to settle down again.

Thanks for the help & suggestions guys. I'm going to trial a current issue Cobalt & an MTB MP5 - I'm leaning towards the MP5 at the moment as it looks quite small & i like the plug/socket arrangement. AFAIK the Tortoise returns to a default position on power off, it's also a tad on the large side. Once again thanks, I suspect my time here may be limited......

Many suggestions** seem to relay on 100% pick up so it's possible that the coach will not brake. As the OP wants prototypical operation would it be an idea to have the brake default to on & held off via the DCC signal. Or, what about buying a small cheap R/C vehicle & cannabalising it ? ** Forget mine - i was way off.

Personally, I don't see a problem with this. No doubt, in true RMW form someone will disagree & produce an over complicated technical essay to read.

People always have their "go-to" decoders, mine are Lenz for non-sound. However, I do from time to time try other makes. Recently, I have tried thre latest offerings from DCCConcepts & they went back for a refund. I had good results from a Dapol Imperium but found it took more time to set up than a Lenz Silver. I also had good results from the Gaugemaster Ruby Range.

I would agree regarding the wipers but not with the DCCConcepts spring pickups - I have them on a number of rakes & find they have negligable friction, especially when used with track magic on the acels.

The interestesting thing about that was they used Marklin Track with steel studs & magnets fitted to the 2-rail locomotives to aid traction. Maybe, that's where DCCConcepts got the idea for their Powerbase.

Scaling down "inertia" will be very diffecult & will need some serioyus fettling to make it work & conti nue to work. Maybe, fit a motorised bogie to the coach to give the illusion that it is running by gravity ? The loco & coach will have to run as a consist between the stations & then as single units. May work, may be too much faffing around.

When you look at the curvature & gradiants in Switzerland 200 kph is pretty "high" speed.

I am considering using Analogue Cobalts for the storage loops on my layout, but trawling the internet it appears that they have had their issues early on. Seaching this forum alone brings up 52 pages of threads with Cobalts mentioned. Not having the time to trawl through that lot & the fact that a lot of these posts will refer to earlier versions of the motors I thiought I'd pose the questions ; 1) Does experience show that these earlier issues are now historical & that the current issue ones are trouble free once installed correctly ? 2) What are the alternatives - in a similar price range. The motors selected will need to remain in the last set position during power off/power on. I have used the Lemarco/Fulgerex ones in the past & found them trouble free, albeit a bit noisy (not quite so bad on 8v). Also, I need 2 x SPDT switches for aux' switching. Thanks in advance, Sam.

The one at Beaulieu had a "twin" at Chessington, both now gone. The one at Alton Towers was fun & I often wondered at how well it ran in the damp cript. Wroxham suffers from lack of imagination. AFAIJ the New Romnet one is still there but they won't spend any money on it. There was an ex-Flesichmann factory layout at Snetterton, but I think that's now gone or closed.

Like many people I spend too long on YT. There are good & bad clips, but the most interesting lately (to me) have been watching clips on tree making. However, the one thing I dislike are YT'ers that are sponsored & don't make it clear that they are indeed sponsored/supported. I don't have a problem with that at all, but it should be quite clear so that the viewer can make their own mind up about the impatiality of any reviews.

I'd forgotton about Langley & definatly easier to adjust the neck - trcky to paint though.

Prieser do 1 : 86 scale ones - 20385.